


Ready As I'll Ever Be (Sanders Sides)

by playertwoisheereandqueer



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series), Thomas Sanders
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-18
Updated: 2018-06-27
Packaged: 2019-05-08 11:11:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14692995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/playertwoisheereandqueer/pseuds/playertwoisheereandqueer
Summary: This shocked Roman out of his trance. “I’ll be a prince?”Something flickered in the stranger’s eyes. “Your majesty, you’ll be king.”That seemed a little fantastical, but it swept Roman away.“King.” He murmured.The stranger’s eyes glowed.“I can make it happen, Roman. I can make you king.”(Based on that animatic. You know the one. Don't pretend you don't. And I know the tag says graphic depictions of violence, but it won't be that graphic. Don't worry about it.)





	1. The Stranger

Roman twirled along the path, his scarf flying out behind him, singing along to a tune in his head. Next to him, his friend Virgil scowled deeper with each word.

"Like everybody else, I've got a dream~"

Virgil closed his eyes and sighed. "Shut up, Roman."

Roman stopped twirling, but the song continued. Virgil buried his face into his own scarf, as if it would muffle the song. But nothing got above Roman. Roman was a force of his own, always ready to stand in the spotlight. Lord, the song was atrocious. Virgil liked a song as much as the next peasant, although his taste were more... melancholy. This was too much.

"Roman." He prompted firmly.

Roman had been off in his own little world for a few seconds. Virgil's voice brought him back down to earth. He smiled sheepishly.

"I'm sorry, Virge, it's just..."

Virgil hated being the buzzkill. It made him very unpopular, but sometimes... it just needed to be done.

"I know you want to be a prince, Roman, but it's just not an achievable dream."

"No, I know. I do not have royal ancestors." Roman twirled the edge of his scarf around his hand. It was a vibrant red color, a gift from Virgil for his last birthday. "But." He brightened. "I've decided the next best thing will be to become a knight."

Virgil looked at him a little skeptically. "Roman... Are you sure you'd be content with that?"

Roman had a tendency to... throw tantrums if something didn't happen the way he wanted it too. But Roman nodded happily.

"It'll be as close to royal as I can get. Plus, I'll get my chance." He smiled at Virgil. "You know I like to be liked."

"I like you. for some reason." Virgil added the last part under his breath as Roman skipped away.

"I heard that." Roman sang, twirling along the path once more.

 

Roman had gone from peasant to most trusted knight at an alarming speed. King Thomas had taken to him rather quickly, and they'd become good friends. Roman could ignore the stab of jealousy that would form whenever he looked at Thomas. He valued his friendship more than his status.

This was okay.

Thomas was having an animated conversation across the room with a baffled Logan, his royal advisor. Virgil was standing silently next to Roman. In an effort to help him achieve his dream, he'd taken a job in the castle as a groom, since he had an overwhelming effect on the horses. And he loved being with them. In addition, it kept him close to his friend, and he was glad. Virgil was out of work for the moment, so he was awaiting instruction from Patton, one of the other castle staff. He was a tailor, and sometimes he would ask Virgil to run errands for him, fetching material from the market, finding his pins and needles, even sometimes acting as the mannequin.

" _Virgil~_!" a voice sung through the halls.

Virgil's mouth twitched. Speak of the devil.

"Hi, Pat." He managed a smile. He liked Patton, a lot. He made Virgil feel welcome.

"Could you be a love and go to the market? I need some new things." He held out a list. When Virgil nodded, he grinned. "Thank you so much." He blew a kiss and skipped away.

Virgil turned to Roman. "No wonder you get along so well."

Roman went to reply, but Thomas came over with Logan, both looking a little perplexed.

"Roman, we've lost someone. I need you to go find him for me." Thomas looked really distressed.

Roman bowed. "Not a problem, my king."

Thomas forced a grin. "Thank you."  His smile eased a little when he turned to Virgil. "Good afternoon, Virgil."

Virgil inclined his head, but said nothing. Thomas frowned a little, but said nothing as Logan dragged him away.

"We better go, Virge. You don't want to see what Patton's like when he's stressed." Roman smirked, looking at him out of the corner of his eye.

They separated at the door.

That was the last time Virgil saw him.

 

Now, that may sound a little misleading, but he never came back as Roman. He was almost a different person.

Roman had been wandering through the woods as Thomas instructed, calling out for the servant that Thomas had lost. And that's when he found him.

He didn't look like anyone Roman had ever seen. He had cold yellow eyes, one side of his face covered in scales. He looked startled enough that Roman was sure he'd stumbled upon something the stranger wasn't meant to be doing.

The look melted quickly into an oily smile.

"Oh." The sound echoed through the tress. Roman felt uncomfortable. He didn't want this... creatures gaze upon him. "Sir Roman."

His hand went to the hilt of his sword. "You know my name?"

The stranger laughed mirthlessly. "Everyone knows you're name. Everyone loves you."

That hit Roman somewhere he couldn't place, maybe his pride. His hand moved from his sword. "They do?"

"They do." The stranger hummed. "But that falls a little short of the mark, doesn't it?"

"w-What do you mean?"

A voice echoed in the back of his mind. _You know what he means. He means your dream._

"You deserve more than what you have, believe me."

He could feel the words poisoning him, but his fragile ego took all the praise he got.

"You deserve to royalty, Roman. Just like your friend, King Thomas."

Roman listened, entranced. Could he dare...

"You can be royal too, rule your very own kingdom."

This shocked Roman out of his trance. "I"ll be a prince?"

Something flickered in the stranger's eyes. "Your majesty, you'll be _king_."

That seemed a little fantastical, but it swept Roman away.

"King." He murmured.

The stranger's eyes glowed and he licked his lips.

"I can make it happen, Roman. I can make you king."


	2. The Crown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman is given instructions on how to create his kingdom.  
> Well.   
> Better be careful who you trust.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before we begin, I just want to let you know I'm doing a little side project, just to keep the ball rolling and me inspired. They should come out every Wednesday or Friday, both, if you're lucky. I've named it The Sides Project, so if you want to check it out, should be up later today! the first one won't be very long, but... Anyway!

Roman took the bunch of roses the stranger gave him and skipped through the town, stopping every now and then to pass one out. There were more than a dozen, but they were gone quickly. He didn’t know exactly what they were meant to do, but he knew they were meant to win some of the townspeople over. He twirled the last rose between his fingers, admiring the pretty red color. He touched a hand to his sash, his scarf in disguise. It got in the way when he was trying to do his knightly duties, but he didn’t want to stop wearing it… So he’d turned it into a sash. It was the same color of the rose, and it reminded him, kind of, of Virgil. A little girl who had been walking past with her mother slowed down to look at him. He turned and smiled at her.

“Hello.”

She ducked behind her mother’s legs, and Roman moved closer, cautiously, as if to a small animal so not to startle her. He kneeled next to her and held out the rose. She peeked out, and when she saw the rose, her face lit up into the best grin Roman had ever seen. She took the rose gently.

“Thank you.” She whispered.

Roman inclined his head toward her. “M’lady.”

She giggled and waved at him with the rose, as she walked away with her mother. So that was it. The last rose.

Roman turned around and went back to the forest, where he’d seen the stranger. He wanted to know what came next, now that all the roses had been distributed. He thought back to what he had said.

_He seemed to just pull them out of nowhere. A few more than a dozen, a bunch of vibrant red roses. They took Roman’s breath away. He reached out to touch them, but something told him he shouldn’t, so he pulled his hand away. The stranger smirked._

_“No, no, it’s okay.” He held them out to Roman._

_Roman took them. There was enough for just under half of the kingdom. He looked up at the stranger, who had a dangerous smile on his face._

_“The people will love you.” His voice was soothing, and Roman felt himself relax. “A king needs loyal people.”_

He was right. The people loved it. And he loved seeing the joy these people had gotten from this act. He made his way to where he’d found the stranger, but he was gone.

 

Virgil had noticed something different about Roman the moment he came home. He’d been talking to Thomas, trying to urge the king into doing as much speaking as possible, because Virgil never knew what to say to him.

That’s when Roman came in.

He seemed lost in his own little world, which wasn’t unusual, but something was… off. He was kind of twitchy and he looked almost… anxious.

But that was Virgil’s job.

Virgil excused himself from the conversation. Thomas happily let him go and turned to Logan instead. Logan gave him a Look, a Look that unmistakable said, _“Why would you leave me with him?”_

Look, it wasn’t that any of them disliked Thomas, but his incessant yammering got… tiring, to say the least. He just couldn’t keep up. Virgil went to Roman and put a cautious hand on his shoulder.

Roman jumped a mile and whipped around, the look on his face softening when he saw Virgil.

“Virge… Hi.”

Virgil removed his hand, like he’d just touched something hot. “Are you okay?”

Roman had drifted off again. He looked at Virgil, a little dazed, until his eyes widened and he shook his head.

“Hm? Oh, yes. Yes, I’m fine.”

Virgil frowned at him. He didn’t look fine.

“Are you sure? You’re-”

Roman scowled and took a step back.

“Why can’t you just accept my answer? _I’m_. _Fine_.” He snapped, turning on his heel and stalking off.

Virgil was surprised, and a little hurt. Roman was hot headed and prone to melt downs, but he’d never snapped at Virgil like that. Virgil cast his eyes downward and went out to the stable. He ignored Patton when he asked him what was wrong.

He just went down to the stable to vent to the horses.

 

The next few weeks were like this. He’d get snappy with Virgil, since Virgil was really the only one who knew him well enough to know he was put off, the only one who’d ask him how he felt.

But eventually he stopped asking.

He’d just avoid Roman, and he hated that. He hated that he’d get huffy with Virgil.

Logan just snapped back, Patton gave him a smile and some space until he felt better and apologised, but Virgil got quieter and quieter at each conversation. He was drawing himself in again, and it was Roman’s fault.

But watching him with Thomas and Patton was like… magic.

They could get him to smile like only Roman had been able to, even though he felt anxious and terrible. Granted, it was never a _smile_ , per se, but Roman couldn’t remember a time Virgil actually smiled at someone.

At the moment, he was sitting on the floor of the throne room with Thomas, and Thomas was teaching him one of those hand-clap game things the young girls in town had taught him. Virgil managed to simultaneously look like he’d rather be anywhere else, and also look like there was no place he’d rather be. He had a small smile on his face as Thomas tried to show him the hand movements, but Virgil just wasn’t getting them. Patton watched for a moment, and then said something.

Thomas replied, and Virgil slid backwards, allowing Patton to sit in front of him. He moved to the side.

Maybe Virgil rarely laughed, but he looked pretty darn close.

Patton was so uncoordinated, as Roman watched on; he wondered how he could do his job so perfectly. Thomas was frowning, and Virgil slid closer and tried to direct Patton’s hands the way they were meant to be.

Roman felt himself smile, and he wandered over. Virgil’s smile fell, and he slid away from them, his gaze directed to his lap.

He couldn’t stand it. Instead of joining, like he’d intended to do, he just turned and walked outside. He sat on the steps of the palace, and closed his eyes.

It was a cold day, yet not cold enough to explain the shivers Roman was receiving.

“Tsk, tsk, sir Roman.”

Roman jumped a mile. His eyes snapped open and he turned to see the stranger, holding a beautiful coronet of red roses in his hand.

“What is that?” Roman inched closer.

It was pretty, but also covered in sharp thorns.

“It’s your crown, your majesty. Every king needs a crown.” He inclined his head and held it out.

Roman reached out to take it, but pulled his hand back. He didn’t want to touch the thorns. The stranger saw this. He smiled, a smile orchestrated to be soothing, and probably would have been if he wasn’t a literal snake.

“It’s okay, Roman. I’ll do it.”

Roman reluctantly leaned forward, and the stranger placed the crown on his head.

The thorns immediately dug into his skin, and he cried out and tried to take it off, but it was stuck tight.

Then he stopped struggling.

The stranger couldn’t help but smile as he saw the flash of yellow in Roman’s eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We all know Roman would do this if it meant stepping into the limelight. I'll be adding in more of Virgil and Roman's current relationship as the story progresses, so hopefully the shitty teases will come out. :)


	3. The King

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman makes the wrong decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone wants to request a thing for my Sides Project series, just send it through, because I'm running out of ideas.

Roman watched Thomas from across the room coldly.

What did he have that Roman didn’t? Aside from the obvious.

Thomas wouldn’t even produce any heirs. So who would it go to after him?

His eyes scanned over everyone else. Maybe Logan. It would probably be Logan because he was closest to the crown. But it could be anyone.

“Sir Roman? Can you take that off please?” One of the servants came up to him.

He just looked at her. She sighed and reached up to take it off.

“Ow.” She drew her hand back when she pricked herself on one of the thorns.

She went to protest, but Roman watched her eyes go glassy and she smiled vacantly. Roman blinked. What happened?

“Are you okay?” he asked.

She grinned and inclined her head. “I’m fine, your majesty. I’m perfectly fine.” She bustled away with a giggle.

Roman blinked. He didn’t know what was happening.

“Roman.”

That was a new one. He turned to Logan. Logan usually avoided talking to him at all cost, since they had extremely conflicting interest.

“You look different.” Logan blinked. “I don’t mean the, um… frankly ridiculous flower crown.”

Roman raised an eyebrow at him. Logan mimicked the look, and they stood in a stand-off for a few minutes. Logan eventually threw up his hands in defeat.

“Fine. I’ll get Patton. He’ll push it out of you.”

“You called?” Patton poked his head around the doorway. He gasped when he saw Roman’s crown. “Ooooh, cute! I love it!”

Logan sighed. “That’s not the issue. Something is clearly wrong.”

Patton poked Logan’s shoulder. “I see what it is. It’s you, being such a grumpy pants.”

Logan looked at Roman. “Unbelievable. I’m leaving. Goodbye.”

When Logan left, Patton softened a little.

“What’s wrong, kiddo?”

Roman almost told him. He was so close… But he just smiled and shook his head.

“Nothing. I’m fine.”

 

Patton was a strange character. He had a ton of pins in his mouth and was poking at Virgil with them.

He’d probably stuck him with more than he’d put into the fabric. Something was on his mind.

“What’s up?” Virgil stepped away to avoid being pricked by more pins.

Patton smiled vacantly. “I’m fine, but something is wrong with Roman.” He stuck Virgil with a pin.

“Ow! I’m not even-”

“That wasn’t an accident. You shut down whenever anyone mentions him.”

Virgil took the pin out of his leg and flicked it across the room. “I’m never doing this again.”

“You’re doing it again.” Patton sang.

Virgil stared at him. “I just said-”

“No, I meant you’re changing the subject. We were talking about Roman.”

Virgil rolled his eyes. “Yes, Patton. He’s off. Something is wrong.”

Patton smiled sadly. “What’s wrong with him, Virgil? You know him better than me.”

Virgil sighed and almost sat next to Patton on the floor, then remembered the pins and decided against it.

“Roman… He’s always wanted to be in the spotlight. That’s no secret. But…” Virgil’s eyes strayed away from Patton and across the room. “He always wanted to be a prince.”

A soft ‘oh’ escaped Patton’s lips, almost like he hadn’t meant to do it. He seemed to know what he was getting at.

“He became a knight because it was the closest he could get, you know?” Virgil rubbed hard at his face. “He seemed to be happy with that… but someone’s gotten to him.”

“What do you mean?” Patton was probing, like a child urging you to tell him what happened next in your story. Virgil didn’t mind.

He paused, unsure of how to phrase it.

“Someone’s told him he can get what he wants.” He closed his eyes. “He’s trying to achieve it.”

Patton blinked. “Oh no.”

Virgil nodded.

There was nothing left to say.

 

Roman walked himself around the kingdom, not knowing where he was going; only knowing it was full of people who would do whatever he asked them to.

A small child smacked into his legs and he staggered.

“I’m sorry-” he began.

Then he noticed it was the girl he’d given the rose to. She giggled at him, then curtsied.

“I’m sorry, your majesty!” she ran off in a delight.

That had been happening all day. Not just with this girl.

Every single darn person he’d given a rose to.

He was going to find out what was happening.

 

He came out to the area of the wood he had found the stranger.

Of course he was there.

The startled look again, like he’d been caught doing something he wasn’t supposed to. He blinked at Roman, then looked at the now-black-roses of the flower crown and grinned.

“King Roman.”

“What is happening? What did those roses do?”

The stranger blinked. “They are doing something you don’t want them to? I thought you wanted loyal followers. I gave you the perfect people.”

“They are not perfect people!” Roman exploded.

The stranger scowled. “You wanted perfect, I gave you perfect.”

“They are Thomas’ people!”

“I promised you a kingdom, I never said I’d give you an entirely new one!” he hissed, eyes narrowed. Then he softened. “Besides, what’s _Thomas_ done to deserve them, hm? Just because he was born into it doesn’t mean he’s best for the job.”

Roman felt his words affect him, as he did every time he spoke with him.

“No, no, you’re right… Maybe he isn’t the best for the job.”

Not even the stranger knew it then, but he’d pushed Roman into making a horrible decision.

 

Roman had lost his sash somewhere. It must have snagged against something… Oh well. It didn’t matter.

He didn’t need it.

What was left of Roman had been pushed out by the decision. He was someone else entirely, and a small part of him wondered if it was worth it, but the rest of him drowned that out.

He had something that would ruin him, but he had needed to do it.

Even Thomas could see it. Roman smirked and turned to him.

“See that, _your majesty_?” he hissed, pointing out the window, to where the rest of the kingdom had fleed. “They’re making room for me.”

The castle had cleared out, he had kidnapped Thomas…

His eyes flashed.

“Long live the king…”


	4. The Problem

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We take a look at what Virgil was doing during the last chapter...

He came in in that ridiculous flower crown, and Virgil was astonished.

Was he actually…? No he couldn’t be.

One thing that Roman wasn’t (at least, entirely) was stupid. Even he knew he couldn’t possibly achieve this. He looked at the flower crown and frowned. It wasn’t usual Roman style.

For one thing, it looked nearly dead. It was mostly red, at the moment, but it was lined with black.

For another thing, Roman hated putting anything on his head. It messed up his hair.

He was going to say something, but Roman glared in his direction, so he turned and moved away.

He turned once, and Roman was still staring at him.

Virgil lifted a hand in a wave. Roman scowled and turned away.

Virgil did the same thing.

 

He could see Roman watching everyone across the room. He looked so serious… so unlike Roman.

He spent an uncomfortable amount of time looking at Thomas. The confirmation scared him.

He was really going for it. He was going to do it.

Roman’s eyes stuck on Logan for a moment. He looked him up and down, kind of menacingly. Then he sneered and looked away.

A servant woman came over to Roman, frowning. She said something to her, but he just frowned. She sighed and reached up to the flower crown, then drew her hand away.

Her eyes went vacant. She smiled. Roman reached out to the woman with a frown, speaking to her. She giggled, replied and skipped away.

Virgil frowned. That was strange. He looked over at Logan. He’d noticed too.

He went over to Roman. Nothing was said for a long while. Then Logan threw up his hands and Patton arrived on the scene. Logan looked pained. He left. He watched Patton and Roman converse for a moment before Roman forced a smile and walked away.

 

Which brings us to the conversation with Patton.

Of course Virgil knew something was wrong. He sat in the attic-sort-of area in the barn with a book, listening to the sounds of the outside. The door slammed open. He sat there, silent, hoping that whoever it was would think he wasn’t in there and go away.

“Virgil, I know you’re up there.”

Virgil groaned and poked his head over the side. Logan looked up at him.

“Patton needs you to go into town, and said he’d find you himself, but the hay irritates his nose.”

Virgil groaned and swung his legs over the side, before dropping off. Logan looked at him, pained.

“Isn’t that how you broke your ankle?”

Virgil shook it out and shrugged. “Possibly.”

Logan ignored it, just looked at the book. “Isn’t that mine.”

Virgil grinned slyly at him. “Possibly.”

He ran out of the barn before Logan could follow him.

 

He was trying to see over a plethora of things when he felt something wrap around his legs and trip him up.

The miscellaneous items went everywhere, and he fell right on his face. He rolled onto his back with a groan, and, feeling his nose start to bleed, sat up, trying to untangle his legs. His fingers closed around the cloth, and he yanked at it.

His heart stopped.

He didn’t care about the mess he’d made, or the crowd crowding around him, or the blood running down his face.

He just ran his thumb over Patton’s neat stitching…

_‘Roman.’_

It was Roman’s. He’d given it to him. Someone helped him up, but he didn’t notice. He just stumbled backwards. He’d never been so careless with it. He’d cried when it tore slightly, for Christ’s sake.

He ran up to the palace. He hit the door with his shoulder and stumbled through it.

What did this mean? What was happening? He’d guarded this scarf with his life. It had to mean something.

Then he saw him.

He was leaning on the banister of the staircase, grinning down at the chaos unfolding below him. Zombie people marched throughout the palace, grabbing the normal people menacingly.

Roman looked up at him and smirked.   
"Long live the king." he mouthed.

Logan put a hand on his arm, and Virgil jumped. He looked almost frightened.

“We need to get out of here.”

Virgil nodded absently. Logan grabbed his wrist and pulled him along. Virgil just stumbled along behind him.

Roman…

He had gained too much momentum by the time Logan stopped running, so he just pitched forward. Right into Patton, who caught him.

“Oh, sweetheart, you’re bleeding.” He pulled his sleeve over his hand and wiped Virgil’s upper lip with it.

Virgil didn’t say anything, he just looked at him, feeling more and more like a child. He gripped onto the scarf.

His legs gave out. He couldn’t believe this was happening.

Patton and Logan gave him sympathetic looks.

“No…” he grabbed Patton’s shirt, trying not to hit the dirt for the second time in an hour. “Don’t look at me like that.”

Patton sat on the ground, Virgil sitting in front of him. People were still clearing out of the palace.

Virgil just looked on.

He’d lost him.

 

Patton watched Virgil.

His eyes were sort of misty, like he’d thought about crying, but just couldn’t get there. He looked so lost.

Patton had never seen anything so sad. Logan sat next to them.

Then Virgil stood.

“Who did this to him? He wouldn’t have… he was…” then he sat again like he couldn’t remember what he was going to say.

 

It was clear. Half the kingdom was crowded around them. Thomas wasn’t safe. Roman had him.

Virgil was restlessly winding and unwinding the scarf around his hands, as if he needed to do something or else he’d burst.

That wasn’t far off the truth.

He’d thought that maybe… just maybe…

 He wanted to scream. He scowled at his lap. Patton reached over and grabbed his hand. Logan grabbed the other.

He must have looked really pathetic if Logan was willing hold his hand.

The scarf sat in his lap. He let go of Patton’s hand and used his sleeve to rub at his face. He felt jumbled, like a mess.

He just didn’t know where he’d gone wrong.

Why would he do this?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I'm here to announce...  
> I WON'T BE POSTING NEXT WEEK!! I KNOW! I'M SORRY!  
> School's been really full on, and I need to study for exams, so... I apologise. But I'll be back the week after! Bye!


	5. The Fight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What has he done?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to kick off this chapter by giving a few shout outs!  
> The first is for DavidtheTraveler, who comments good things on most of my stories and boost my confidence.   
> Next is for iiCinnamonBun, who followed me from my BMC story and comments lovely things.  
> Last is for my best friend, TheSacredBrooke, who gives me motivation and is a general sounding board.   
> Thanks guys! I love you!

The room was huge. It was the bigger than his old house, and it was in the smallest turret of the castle.

Thomas slept in this room. He didn’t use it for anything else. Thomas had commented on the ridiculous size of his room, but Roman hadn’t expected this. Thomas was currently standing by the door, which was locked so no one could enter, and Thomas couldn’t leave. Roman had the key. He’d thought about making a break for it, but the only other way out was over the balcony, and that plan didn’t really sound appealing, and at least there was a chance of survival with Roman.

Wasn’t there?

“What are you going to do?” he asked a little fearfully.

Roman gestured vaguely to the window. They could see lights lit, and the townspeople had congregated on the outskirts of the kingdom.

“Depends what they do.”

Thomas didn’t like the sound of that. He gasped a little and stumbled back.

“You… you don’t mean you might actually…”

“I might.” Roman replied vacantly, as if the idea hadn’t really occurred to him, but sounded really appealing.

“You can’t!” he was panicking now. “That’s regicide! That’s punishable by death!”

Roman turned towards him fiercely, and Thomas stepped backwards again. He looked animalistic, like he’d rip him to shreds in a second.

“Now,” he said softly. Dangerously. “Is it really regicide if he’s no longer a king?”

“But-”

“Shut up.” Roman snarled. “You don’t deserve it. You are not the right person for this job.” He whipped around and talked to the window. “And if you die? Who’s the crown to go to? You aren’t producing any heirs.”

That stung a little.

“Roman… I don’t want to-”

“As if you care.” He waved him off, looking at the window. Thomas said nothing.

Roman watched out the window at the townsfolk. They appeared to be circled, like listening to something. They looked like they were riling up.

“Any moment now, _your highness_.” He grinned.

Again, Thomas said nothing. Maybe if he was silent…

Roman was still looking out the window, fist clenched. “Believe me I know, I've sunk pretty low. But whatever I've done you deserve.”

Thomas reached out to him. He sounded so much like… But he couldn’t. “Roman…”

Roman turned and snapped, “Quiet!” Thomas flinched and snatched his hand back.

Roman began to move across the room. “I'm the bad guy, that's fine. It's no fault of mine. And some justice at last will be served.”

Thomas was fearful. He’d had a run in with _him_. It was all _his_ fault. “Please listen!” He put his hand over Roman’s, but he just snatched it away.

He swung a cloak around his shoulders and began to move back to the balcony, buttoning it. “Now it's time to step up, or it's time to back down, and there's only one answer for me.” He grabbed his sword and pointed it towards Thomas. “And I'll stand up and fight, because I know that I'm right. And I’m ready…”  The last words echoed around the room as he flung the balcony door open. He walked onto the balcony and looked out. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”

 

Meanwhile, on the outskirts of town, Virgil looked up at the castle. Some people were crying, and Patton was trying to comfort them. He heard a few whispers about him. How did they know Virgil wouldn’t try this, too? Wasn’t he Roman’s friend? He started to shake a little. They needed to take back the castle. And someone needed to lead. He gripped the scarf and thought, ‘ _What would Roman do?_ ’ Something dramatic probably. He scowled and whipped around.

“Now it's time to rise up, or it's time to stand down, and the answer is easy to see.” He looked down at the scarf, and then threw it on. “And I swear by the sword; if you're in, get on board.” He turned to Logan and Patton. “Are you ready?”

Patton stepped forward. “I’m ready.”

Logan did the same. “I’m ready.”

A few people in the crowd chimed in. “We’re ready.”

Virgil turned back. “Ready as I’ll ever be…”

 

Logan watched Virgil a little, then took Patton by the hand and pulled him away from the crowd, who was ramping up a little.

“Logan?” Patton said quizzically.

Logan sighed. “Are you quite sure we can do this?”

Patton looked at him a moment longer, then smiled reassuringly at him.

“Together we will, guarantee!”  Hand still in Logan’s he ran back to Virgil, dragging Logan with him.

 

Roman watched the crowd begin to approach.

He grinned. Oh good. Now he could have some fun.

“I’ll make them hear me.”

 

The kingdom had made its move. They were going back. They would fight Roman.

Except that three of them didn’t particularly want to do it.

Not only did Virgil want Roman back, but he also wanted to prove himself. “I’ll prove they can trust me…” he murmured to himself.

Patton wanted everything to be as it was. ‘ _I'll save my home and family._ ’

They paused at the doors of the castle. Logan looked at Virgil. “Now the line's in the sand, and our moment's at hand.” He nodded at him. “And I'm ready.”

He was looking for confirmation. Virgil nodded back.

“I’m ready.”

Patton chimed in with his own. “I’m ready.”

 

Roman couldn’t see them anymore, which meant they’d arrived. He turned to Thomas, and Thomas was scared to see his eyes had changed color, into a horrible yellow. Just like _his_.

“Ready as I’ll ever be.”

Roman swept past him. Thomas knew better than to try and leave. He stood where he was as he watched his friend leave.

The door slammed behind him, and he heard it lock.

And then, he let go all he was feeling. When the first sob had broken through, it felt like a dam had broken. He couldn’t stop.

“Oh lord.” Thomas covered his mouth as tears streamed down his face. “He ruined him. He’s…”

He couldn’t say anymore.

 

The zombie people began to fight the moment they stepped through the doors.

One grabbed Logan and he screamed before picking up a candlestick and batting at their hand to make them let go.

Roman had come out, and he was standing at the top of the stairs, leaning on the railing, like he’d been doing earlier. A gust of wind came through the open door, and half of the candles went out. Roman was shrouded in darkness, but Virgil could see the sick yellow of his eyes glow in the dark.

‘ _I have to get to him_.’ Virgil thought desperately.

There were war sounds everywhere, some had moved to the light areas to fight with who they needed, and Virgil was suddenly aware of how defenceless he was.

He’d already started moving, so it was too late. He kept going.

One thing being an anxious mess had taught him was how to navigate crowds unseen.

The candles went up around him.

While everyone was fighting, Roman had calmly set to work re-lighting them.

He was so nonchalant, like he was sure no one was going to stop him. Like he knew he’d get away with it.

“Oh good. You’re here, Virge.” He shook the match out and flicked it away. “Here for Thomas?”

Virgil shook his head and took a tentative step forward. “No. I’m here for you.”

Roman laughed. “What could you possibly have to offer me?” He looked amused.

Virgil had to pretend the comment didn’t hurt. “I-I’m here to save you.”

Roman’s face lost all humor and he scowled.

“ _Save_ me? From what? From getting the only thing I’ve ever wanted?” Roman’s sword had been drawn, and it was directed at Virgil. “You… You tried to tell me it wasn’t possible. He helped me. He helped me realize I could…”

Virgil shook his head again. That’s all he could do. “No, Roman…”

“Stop!” Roman began to shake.

It looked like Virgil was getting somewhere.

Maybe he could of if Logan and Patton hadn’t come thundering up the stairs.

Both Virgil and Roman moved…

The blade slid easily through his stomach. He looked down at it. Blinked a moment, and coughed out the blood rising in his throat. He found it suddenly a little hard to breathe. He stumbled back a couple of steps, then fell back, sitting hard on the floor. Patton caught him before he could fall any further.

Virgil’s hand closed around the hilt of the sword.

“No, don’t pull it out!” Logan panicked. “You’ll bleed out quicker.”

Virgil ignored him and pulled the sword out.

Then the noticed Roman.

The flower crown had begun to wilt, and Roman dropped to his knees with a horrible scream, clutching his head.

The petals of the crown fell around him, and he looked up, horrified. He looked at Logan, who was trying to stop Virgil’s bleeding, and at Patton, who was frozen, holding him.

Then Logan pulled back, shaking. Everyone looked at Virgil.

His eyes were wide and glassy. Roman felt fear like never before. No… that meant…

“No. Nonononono.” He crawled over to Virgil and reached out and put a hand on his face.

No reaction. Absolutely nothing. Usually Virgil would slap him away or something, and today, Roman would’ve loved that.

Patton stepped back, hands covering his mouth, tears streaming down his face. Logan looked devastated, but he didn’t know what else to do, so he just looked at his hands, covered in Virgil’s blood, very severely shaking.

Roman put his head in his hands. “No…”

He felt his chest get tight, and he moved closer to Virgil, but he didn’t know what else to do.

He was gone.

His best friend was gone.

And it was his fault.

He noticed something, something Virgil was wearing. He reached out and grabbed his scarf, the one he’d thought he’d lost.

He wound it around his hands, and then, suddenly, couldn’t handle being in the room anymore.

He stood and ran to his room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chaoter is the last, so that'll be coming out a little early considering I only have a half day on Friday to do it, then I'll be taking a small break as my school holidays happen.   
> Okay dudes! Thanks!


	6. The Funeral

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to Virgil's send off...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter, so obviously no more. But I'm continuing my Sides series, so if you aren't there already, I'd appreciate it if you check it out! It's a bunch of Sides shorts, and I take prompts... So...

Everyone had been hit hard by Virgil’s death.

Patton had tried to pretend it hadn’t happened, that Virgil wasn’t dead. Sometimes he broke down, when it just got too much for him, and he’d go to Logan.

“We-we failed him… We could have saved him…”

Logan would try and comfort him in the best way he could. “It’s not your fault… It went through the kidney… There was no time… We couldn’t have saved him…”

He sounded more like he was trying to convince himself rather than Patton. He’d developed a tremor in his hands, to the point where he wouldn’t be able to write anything and someone would have to scribe for him. You could catch him rubbing on them at certain points, Lady Macbeth style, as if he could still see Virgil’s blood on his hands.

Thomas took it unusually hard. He was constantly confused and forgot an unusual amount of things, and would leave in the middle of conversations in search of food or something.  He was strangely aloof and careless. He cracked jokes he shouldn’t be making constantly, and didn’t give a care to appearance. His shame, filter, and fear flew out the window.

Not to mention the time he forgot to duck the low doorway and smacked his head against the doorframe. His hand flew to his forehead, looking stunned for a moment. Then he laughed.

“God that hurt. Did you see that? Did you feel how hard that was?” Then he wandered off.

But Roman, of course, took it the hardest.

He tried to hide from everyone, and if he couldn’t, he wouldn’t speak to them. He was staring to look a lot like Thomas in appearance; his hair was in a wild tangle, he just threw on whatever he could find, and the only reason he was even bathing these days was because it gave him privacy.

It was very uncharacteristically Roman, and it worried everyone. He’d come in to find something to eat for breakfast the other day, looking like Hell personified, rubbing at his eyes. He looked like he hadn’t slept since Virgil died, and he probably hadn’t.

He’d managed to find a space to hide from everyone, so at least that wasn’t an issue anymore.

If he climbed up the ladder in the barn, he could sit in the space where he’d assumed Virgil would sit whenever he came up here; There were a couple of hay bales set up almost like a chair, and books were stacked haphazardly around it. If Roman moved some extra hay bales in a certain way, it would block him from the outside world and he could hide away and be alone.

 

That wasn’t ideal today.

The day of Virgil’s send off, and Patton was looking for him.

He was walking out by the stables when he heard a crash. He smiled sadly. It seemed so obvious now that he thought about it…

He went into the barn and climbed up the ladder. A startled looking Roman was standing there, still, a mess of books around his feet.

Patton sneezed. “Darned hay…” he looked at Roman. “Mind if we take this outside, kiddo?”

Roman looked defeated, and he followed Patton down the ladder. They converged outside, and Patton looked at Roman.

“You ready for this?”

Roman shook his head. “Not going.”

“What?” Patton’s voice was quiet, and kind of dangerous. Roman didn’t notice.

“I’m not going. I killed him, Patton, I-” He never got to finish that thought.

That’s because something collided hard with his face. His head snapped to the side, and he blinked for a moment, before he processed the thing that had hit him was Patton’s hand and he’d just been slapped. Patton looked at him with a scowl, angry tears in his eyes.

“All those years of friendship, of being on his own, and you spent it with him. If you don’t go, all that will be for nothing.”

Roman was stunned. His hand flew to his stinging cheek, and he blinked furiously. Patton was staring at him, still scowling.

“Now get in there, clean yourself up, and get ready to leave.” Patton turned on his heel and stormed off.

Roman followed.

 

The scarf was wrapped tightly around his neck, and he looked the best he’d looked since Virgil died.

He stood in the back of the room, away from everyone else, surveying everyone. He felt angry.

Half of these people didn’t care about Virgil. It was insulting that they pretended to be upset.

Roman turned to Patton and Logan instead. Patton was bawling, and Logan had his arms around him, speaking softly into his ear. Thomas was sitting by himself in the corner, looking blank. Like, everything had left him.

Roman wanted to leave before they lowered the coffin, but Patton wouldn’t let him. He clutched at the paper in his pocket and closed his eyes. Then he felt a hand on his shoulder.

Patton looked at him, eyes gleaming with leftover tears, and silently asked him a question. Roman nodded.

“Ready as I’ll ever be.” Roman murmured.

Then they left.

 

Roman sat up the front this time, with a purple flower in hand and the paper.

The letter he’d written to Virgil after he died.

Roman was trying to get the courage up to put them in, as he’d wanted to do. His eyes stung with tears. How could he have done this? How could he get so corrupted that it would lead to this?

He’d left the castle on the night of Virgil’s death in search of the snake.

He’d been out for two days, but he’d disappeared. He went back to his spot in the forest, and, nailed to the tree, was a note.

_‘My condolences. Better luck next time. –D’_

Roman had screamed and stabbed his sword through it. Then he’d run all the way home and locked himself away.

He leaned in front of the gravesite, and he felt Patton’s hand on his arm. He sighed, then dropped the flower and the letter in, then stood and turned away.

Patton engulfed him in a hug, and then they were joined by Logan and Thomas. The four stood in a huddle, not letting go of each other any time soon.

Roman closed his eyes…

And just let go.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we are, at the end... If you want me to publish the letter Roman wrote, I can do so... But it won't be here. it'll be a separate story. But thanks for reading, and I hope you go to my other stories!

**Author's Note:**

> So. We all know what this story is based off. If you don't, I'll leave a link. But I hope y'all are enjoying it so far. :)
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNqneoesKvw


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